Lanthana-doped mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles with high specific surface area and thermal stable anatase wall was synthesized via hydrothermal process by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant-directing agent and pore-forming agent. The resulting materials were characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM, FT-IR spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption. The as-synthesized mesoporous doped TiO2 nanoparticles have mean diameter of 20nm with mean pore size of 2.2nm. The specific surface area of the as-synthesized mesoporous nanosized doped TiO2 exceeded 460m2/g, and that of the samples after calcination at 500℃ still have 243m2/g. Compared with undoped sample and P25, the lanthana-doped mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles show better activities on the oxidation of rhodamine B (RB). The large surface area and more active sites for combining with RB due to the present of lanthanum ion can explain the high photocatalytic activity of lanthana-doped mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles.

Mesoporous titania nanoparticles with high specific surface area and thermal stable anatasewallwas synthesized from surfactant laurylamine hydrochloride (LAHC) and inorganic precursor Ti(SO4)2. The as-synthesized and calcined materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, transmission electron micrographs, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The obtained mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles have mean diameter of 25.5 nm. The specific surface area of the mesoporous nanosized TiO2 calcined at 400℃ exceeded 189m2 g−1, and that of the samples after calcinations at 500℃ still have 151m2 g−1. The obtained anatase mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles show relative high thermal stability.

A method has been developed for the determination of trace impurities in silicon nitride (Si3N4) powders by fluorination assisted electrothermal vaporization (ETV)/ICP-AES using the slurry sampling technique. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) emulsion as a fluorinating reagent not only effectively destroys the skeleton of Si3N4, but also carries out selective volatilization between the impurity elements (Cu, Cr) and the matrix (Si). The experimental parameters influencing fluorination reactions were optimized. The detection limits for Cu and Cr are 1.05ng/mL (Cu) and 1.58ng/mL (Cr), the RSDs are in the range of 1.9-4.2%. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of Cu and Cr in Si3N4 ceramic powders. The analytical results were compared with those obtained by independent methods.

Nickel oxide (NiO) nanotubules were fabricated by a dodecylsulfate-mediated templating method in a homogeneous precipitation process. The nanotubules obtained have diameters of 20-160nm and wall thickness of 8-50 nm with lengths up to several micrometers. The crystallinity, morphology and structure features of the NiO nanotubules were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), infrared (IR) spectrum, etc.

Novel nano-structured clays were synthesized from cation exchange reaction by the intercalation of rhodium complexes with ligand spacers into clay. Expansion of interlayer space of the modified clays depends on the spacers. A unique conformation of pillar complexes was detected by cross polarization magic angle spinning (CP MAS) NMR.